Military forces in Sudan have put Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok under house arrest, according to Al-Hadath TV, and detained several members of the country’s civilian leadership.
Citing unidentified sources, the Saudi-owned broadcaster said a military force besieged the prime minister’s home early on Monday before placing him under house arrest.
Other civilian officials taken into custody include Industry Minister Ibrahim al-Sheikh, and the governor of Sudan’s capital Khartoum, Ayman Khalid, family sources told Al Jazeera.
Information Minister Hamza Baloul, media adviser to the prime minister, Faisal Mohammed Saleh, and the spokesman for Sudan’s ruling sovereign council, Mohammed al-Fiky Suliman, were also arrested, according to officials who spoke to the Associated Press news agency.
Al-Bashir was toppled after months of street protests in 2019, and a political transition agreed after his removal was meant to lead to elections by the end of 2023.
Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan, reporting from Khartoum, said “telecommunications access has been restricted” in the country “so it’s very hard to communicate with people here”.
“The military has also blocked all roads and bridges leading into Khartoum city. We’ve seen soldiers blocking access and they are telling us these are the orders they got. They are saying access to Khartoum city is to be restricted, and this is raising concern because that’s where the government institutions are, that’s where the presidential palace and the prime minister’s offices are located.” (AlJazeera)
